Adapter for accelerators for automobiles



sept. 7, 1954 2,688,262

W. El BQLTON ADAPTER FOR ACCELERATORS FOR AUTOMOBILES Filed Dec. '7,1951 IN VEN TOR.

F10/[m12 E. B0 fom BY (a. @WM

h/'f 4 rroR/VEY Patented Sept. 7, 1954 UN IIEDL PAT-E. OFFICE".ADAPTER'FOE ACCELERATORS FOR AUTOMOBILES WilliamfE, Bolton, New York,N.'Y.

Application December 7, 1951, Serial No. 260,457

equalto the level of the. brakepedal in order to minimize the anklemovement of the driver, and also. to give the foot a good restingl`place during such ankle movement. This adapterconsists of an elongatedblock of wood, plastic material -or -sim-ilar` materialhaving'fastening-clips at its underside'toengagethe accelerator plate,and having at its upper sider ortop, a--riction material as rubberrorthe-like fto: prevent lthe foot sole from slipping. Preferablmfthe inneror lower end ,of the adapteris providedfwith an; inclined surface, toact as a rest for the heel of the driver.

The invention will be further described, an embodiment thereof shown inthe drawings, and the invention will be iinally pointed out in theclaims.

In the` accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of a clutch, brake pedal and acceleratorplaced, as known, on a dashboard iioor, with, however, the improvedadapter placed over the accelerator;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section on line 3-3 of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 diagrammatical drawings, Fig. 4 showing the oldrelative heights of the brake pedal and accelerator, and Fig. 5 showingthe new relationship of brake pedal and improved accelerator, takenonline 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughoutthe various views.

Referring to the drawings, the known floor I!! of a dashboard, has asknown, the clutch pedal II, the brake pedal I2 and the accelerator pedalI3. Normally, the distance of the surface of the brake pedal I2 from thesurface of the known accelerator is shown by A in Fig. 4.

The average ankle movement of an individual is limited, depending partlyon the size of an individual and partly on the mobility of the jointaction of an individual. With a large throw of an ankle movement, thereis a considerable strain to make the reach from the known accelerator tothe brake pedal, and any strain invokes the leg muscles and often actsupon the knee. This soon becomes a fatigue producing action, whereas amere anklemovement is not soiatigue--producing- To assureamovement-ofthe ankle within its limits, the accelerator I3' is providedwith an adaptor I5, of a height Itocompensate*forthe 5 excessivemovement, and thus to reduce `-the-dis tance vbetween the uppersurface-of :accelerator to the uppersur-face of'thebrake pedal to-afactor B.

The knownv acoelerator- I3 fis connectedto a o lever I6 lwhichconnects.with:the:known Vmechanism which is not shown `in detail,because known and which `forms no: part .of vthe present .invenftion.The metallic foot plate Il usuallyrhas longitudinal beads: I trat fits:lower side ,Y ,and` is :hinged The-improved adapten i cconsists,preferably, of ablock 20 .of wood, orlight metal. Itlcan bemadeeofgplass, plastic,v rubbersor thelike, or any lother hardmaterial.With slight adjustments zo .thisblockfwillt cnzzallf American motor.cars

As a general indication of dimensions, withoutl desiring to be limitedthereto, this block 20 is 2%," wide, 11/2" high, 7 long (bottom), 6"long (top), and 2" for the bevelled part 2l. The rubber top coating 22is The metal clips 23 are 1A by 1/2". The overall length at the bottomis 7".

The metal plate Il of the known accelerator usually has a rubber or thelike layer 24 attached n thereto to prevent slipping of the shoe of thedriver.

The metal clips 23, may be applied in various ways. One way, as shown inFig. 3, is to provide a strip 25 secured to the block 20 by screws 25,

.. which strip 25 has a resilient bent end 21, at

0 each end of the strip 25, so disposed that the bent ends 2 may besnapped over the sides of the plate I'I and its rubber like layer 24,and in consequence over each marginal bead IB. There are prefer ablyfour snaps 2l, disposed two in front and two in the rear of the block20; and this group of snaps 2'I fasten the adaptor I5 to the acceleratorplate I'I.

The inclined part 2l of the block, also covered o with rubber or thelike, is made bevelled or inclined to provide for the heels, especiallyfor high heels, so that the sole of the shoe can be placed flat on thelayer 22.

The improved accelerator extension is designed for the comfort of theautomobile driver. It contributes in a large degree to the safety of thepublic at large. Due to the fact that some people are short and othersare tall it is impossible to build ,a car to nt every one. The improvedaccelerator extension remedies this situation. A short person can reachthe brake pedal but cannot reach the foot accelerator withoutstretching, this puts the body oif balance and causes discomfort thusslowing the movement of the foot in the case of an emergency stop.Seconds lost in this operation could be the cause of serious personalinjury and considerable amount of property damage. The improvedaccelerator extension brings the foot accelerator to a more evendistance with the brake pedal providing more comfortable driving andfaster braking.

A tall person can reach the accelerator but when lifting the foot toapply the brake, his knee is likely to strike the steering wheel, thiswill prevent him from applying the brake and in turn may cause him tolose control of the car. The condition has caused many of our mostserious accidents. The improved accelerator extension in this case willpermit the driver to push the adjustable seat all the way back and allowample room for free and easy leg movement.

The improved accelerator extension is especially designed for high heelsto afford firm footing and prevent possible slipping.

Should the occasion arise when more than one person has the use of thecar, the improved accelerator extension can be attached or removed in afew seconds.

I wish it to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to theexact details of construction shown and described, for obviousmodications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

I claim:

In adaptors for accelerators for automobiles, having an acceleratorpedal and a brake pedal closely adjacent to each other without anyintervening structural element between the faces of said accelerator andbrake pedals at the levels of said faces of said pedals, the `operativeface of the accelerator pedal being disposed below the operative face ofsaid brake pedal as known, the combination of an elongated block ofmaterial of substantially the longitudinal length and width of saidaccelerator pedal operative face, and of a thickness substantially equalto the difference in said levels of said accelerator and brake pedaloperative faces, said block having a minor portion of its lengthinclined downwardly at its lower end extending downwardly from vtheupper surface of said block to said operative surface of saidaccelerator pedal, the lower end of said block being spaced from thelowest end of the pedal, said inclined portion facing the heel of theoperator for resting the foot of the operator thereon, means on theupper face of the block resisting any slipping action of the shoeapplied thereto, and means for fastening said block to said acceleratorpedal face, whereby the foot of the operator is substantially on thesame level whether on the brake or block operative surface, it requiringonly a right hand turning of the foot from the block to the brake pedalor vice versa without sustantially elevating the foot to operate eitherthe brake or the block operative surface.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,455,675 Sinclair May 15, 1923 1,826,968 Townsend O'ct. 13,1931 1,875,399 Woller Sept. 6, 1932 2,020,440 Stein Nov. 12, 19352,136,980 Pim Nov. l5, 1938 2,167,959 Pomemacki Aug. 1, 1939 2,203,933Thorp June l1, 1940 2,410,412 Hurford Nov. 5, 1946 2,548,988 McDonaldApr. 17, 1951

